CME ups ante on CBOT merger offer

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and CBOT Holdings, Inc. Friday announced that they have revised the terms of their merger agreement, according to a CBOT press release.

The CME Holdings, Inc. is made up of (NYSE, NASDAQ: CME) and CBOT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BOT) .

The new CME offer is valued at $9.2 billion, below an offer by the Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) for $10.1 billion. CME originally offered to buy
CBOT for about $8 billion.

Also, the CBOT Holdings Board of Directors and its special transaction committee have unanimously decided to support a recommendation that CBOT Holdings shareholders vote in favor of the merger agreement with CME. The CBOT Holdings Board also concluded that the unsolicited proposal submitted by ICE was not superior to the revised CME transaction, according to the press release.

"After a thorough review of ICE and careful consideration of its proposal and the revised proposal from CME, the Boards of CBOT Holdings and the CBOT concluded that the revised merger agreement with CME offered greater overall benefits for our shareholders and members," said CBOT Chairman Charlie Carey.

Carey added, "Our Boards and advisors carefully reviewed both the short-term and long-term value of both transactions. A combination with the CME will create the most extensive and diverse global derivatives exchange, transforming global derivatives markets and creating efficiencies for customers and members while delivering significant benefits to shareholders. In addition, given our common clearing arrangement with CME and the CME Globex electronic platform, we believe a combination with CME presents significantly less integration risk than a combination with ICE. We look forward to the July 9th vote and to completing the transaction as soon as possible after the vote."

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and CBOT Holdings, Inc. Friday announced that they have revised the terms of their merger agreement, according to a CBOT press release.